 The wreckage of the DC-9 at its crash site | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | June 6, 1971 18:11 (6:11 PM) PDT |
| Summary | Mid-air collision |
| Site | San Gabriel Mountains, Los Angeles County, California, United States 34°10′30″N 118°00′00″W / 34.175°N 118.00°W |
| Total fatalities | 50[1] |
| Total survivors | 1 |
| First aircraft | |
.jpg) N9345, the Hughes Airwest DC-9-31 involved in the collision | |
| Type | McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31 |
| Operator | Hughes Airwest |
| IATA flight No. | RW706 |
| Call sign | AIR WEST 706 RED |
| Registration | N9345 |
| Flight origin | Los Angeles International Airport, California |
| 1st stopover | Salt Lake City International Airport, Utah |
| 2nd stopover | Boise Airport, Idaho |
| 3rd stopover | Lewiston Airport, Idaho |
| 4th stopover | Pasco Airport, Washington |
| Last stopover | Yakima Airport, Washington |
| Destination | Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, Washington |
| Occupants | 49 |
| Passengers | 44 |
| Crew | 5 |
| Fatalities | 49 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Second aircraft | |
 A U.S. Marine Corps F-4B Phantom II, similar to the one involved | |
| Type | McDonnell Douglas F-4B Phantom II |
| Operator | Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323, United States Marine Corps |
| Registration | BuNo.151458 |
| Occupants | 2 |
| Fatalities | 1 |
| Injuries | 1 |
| Survivors | 1 |
Hughes Airwest Flight 706 was a regularly scheduled flight operated by American domestic airline Hughes Airwest from Los Angeles, California to Seattle, Washington, with several intermediate stops. On Sunday, June 6, 1971, the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 serving as Flight 706 departed Los Angeles just after 6 p.m. en route to Seattle as a McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II of the United States Marine Corps was approaching Marine Corps Air Station El Toro near Irvine at the end of a flight from Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada. The two aircraft collided in midair over the San Gabriel Mountains near Duarte, killing all 49 aboard the DC-9 and the F-4 pilot; the F-4 radar intercept officer ejected and survived.
The crash of Flight 706 prompted the United States Armed Forces to agree to reduce the number of military aircraft operating under visual flight rules in civilian air corridors and to require military aircraft to contact civilian air traffic controllers.